I signed a contract beginning December 1st, 2005. After the end of January, my employer told me that I could teach until the end of February then I would be terminated. We signed a contract until for me to teach through July 31st, 2006.
Immediately after signing the contract my employer, took the contract and has made excuse after excuse for not being able to give me a copy of the contract. What can I do, who can I contact concerning my rights?
I am an American citizen and native English teacher? Is there some council in Taiwan to help foreigners with these problems? This is a complete violation of the law, especially since my students have done very well, the parents could be complaining because of my race and sex ( I am male ) but if that was a problem, the employer should not have hired me.
If you have some answers and would rather contact me directly, my email is jonntexas@yahoo.com
NEW NEWs-- My employer signed a piece of paper along with her Inkblot ( for lack of a better word that is what I will call it ). She promised me February’s pay whether I taught or not, I had her sign, date and then put her chopblock on it.
Now she is refusing to pay for February. What can I do and who can I go to??
Whether or not you want to try any sort of legal tactics to gain compensation, you will need a legal basis to stay in the country. If you don’t have a job you will have to leave the country and then return.
Your boss is giving you time to find work before you are terminated, which is a good thing.
Whether or not you want to try any sort of legal tactics to gain compensation, you will need a legal basis to stay in the country. If you don’t have a job you will have to leave the country and then return.
Your boss is giving you time to find work before you are terminated, which is a good thing.[/quote]
Couldn’t have put it better myself. Find a new job. Shouldn’t be TOO hard given that you are a native English speaker. Then worry about everything else. You certainly don’t want to work longer for this arsehole of a boss, do you?
Not quite sure what’s wrong here or what the basis for any action against the boss would be. [quote]After the end of January, my employer told me that I could teach until the end of February then I would be terminated.[/quote] Sounds like he has given you a 30 day notice of termination. In most contracts, that is all that is required. I recommend getting another job immediately, then seeing if the boss will release you before the end of 30 days in order to get you out of the negative environment.
My understanding of this sort of thing (which is limited and probably a bit outdated, it’s from a couple of years back) is that you could potentially sue if wrongly fired, but you would only get a certain amount of compensation – which is usually one month’s salary per year of service. Since you’ve only been there for two months, you can probably forget that. Plus, your contract may have some clause about probation written in there – it’s very common in Taiwan to have a “trial period”.
The above posters are spot on in my opinion. Get yourself a new job, get your paperwork transferred over, and try to keep reasonably good relations with your old boss in the meantime, not to be a nice guy but because it benefits YOU in getting things worked out to your satisfaction. It shouldn’t be difficult to get a new job as a native speaker, as has been pointed out. I feel your pain on this one and I agree that this is slimy behavior, but the court system in Taiwan is not as apt to reward right and punish wrong in civil matters as you might imagine. You’re probably wiser to just forget about it after you get yourself what could be an even better job. Try to think positively in the meantime.
As has already been suggested, find another job. I got screwed over school after school after school my first year. I finally found a good school last December. Just remember: You’re not the first foreigner to get screwed over and you won’t be the last, so keep your chin up.
I suggest getting yourself legal through a Chinese school until you find an employer you know won’t dick you.
I also suggest, being that you have not seen the contract, doing what you can to make sure you are CURRENTLY legally here.
If your employer breaks a contract without good reason, he must pay you to the end of the contract. This is not the same as severance pay - it’s completely different.
If you weren’t guilty of gross misconduct and weren’t proven incapable of doing your job properly, you were fired without good reason, regardless of the notice given. You have a contract. Your employer is obligated to fulfill it.
But it’s a headace to sue and you must come up with the legal fees, which you cannot recuperate from your employer should you win.
Good luck, whatever you choose to do. You are not the first nor the last.
Even in Canada the employer has the right to terminate someone without reason within a “trial period” (usually mentioned in the contract).
Contracts in Taiwan are generally useless, especially if they’re written in English.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Foreigners have basically no rights in Taiwan, except the right to make 5 - 10 times the amount of money that the locals do.
I personally know a foreigner who sued his employer for exactly this reason and won. The employer had to pay him 11 months salary, to the end of the contract period.
I have one bit of advice. Never sign a contract for ANYTHING, be it a lease or for employment, unless there are two identical contracts ready to be signed when you sit down at the table. Why would you sign only one copy of a contract? In some places, even a certified true copy of that single original contract would be worthless.
